Episode 45. Is It Okay to Do This? 2.
After staring for a long while at the logo drawn in the file, Yang Gyeonghun raised his head.
“What do you think? I think it’s pretty good.”
Song Gaeun answered in a subdued voice.
“I don’t think it’s bad either.”
He asked Kim Byeongjun.
“What about you?”
“Me too.”
“Hmm… then should we give this a try?”
No one answered.
It wasn’t because they were thinking negatively.
They definitely felt that there was something to it.
But because it shattered too many preconceptions, they were dazed and frightened.
In the strange silence, Hyeonu opened his mouth.
“Is it perhaps not that good?”
As if they had agreed beforehand, Yang Gyeonghun and Song Gaeun waved both hands in denial.
“No, no, no, no. It’s good.”
“Oh my! That’s not it. It’s good.”
[It’s good, but it’s just so unexpected that I’m flustered. I don’t know if we’re allowed to do this.]
Hyeonu interpreted the team members’ reactions and Song Gaeun’s inner thoughts like this.
‘They like it, but because it’s a path no one has taken before, it feels awkward, and they haven’t had time to adapt.’
There was no need to hesitate because of that awkwardness.
After all, once a little time passed and they adapted, awkwardness would soon turn into naturalness.
Hyeonu asked.
“Which of these three do you think would be best?”
The three of them closed their mouths again and stared for a long while.
Kim Byeongjun was the first to speak.
“I think Animal Planet is good. I like the elephant-shaped logo above the letters. I think it would look good on signs or on clothes.”
“Me too.”
Yang Gyeonghun agreed as well, but Song Gaeun tilted her head.
“I think National Geographic has a more urban feel and is better… Well, still, now that I’ve heard what the team leader and assistant manager said, I do think Animal Planet might be better. The elephant logo is pretty.”
Yang Gyeonghun slapped the desk.
“Good. Let’s go with it. Hyeonu, go straight to Mancheon Apparel tomorrow and start coordinating with them. Put up the approval request after you get back.”
“Understood, Team Leader.”
“And Hyeonu, it looks like you’ll be very busy from now on, so I’ll look into the trademark contracts. This work is trickier than you might think. And if Hyeonu runs into any roadblocks, Assistant Manager Kim, help him out. If he needs to make presentation materials, give him a hand. Senior Staff Song won’t have time because of Cartibajac.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
“But…”
At Hyeonu’s voice, everyone turned their heads.
And at the few quiet words he spoke, they were all startled.
Yang Gyeonghun asked.
“Do we really have to go that far?”
“Yes, Team Leader. When you take the first step down a road no one has walked before, I believe the first thing you should think about is making sure the person who follows second has nowhere to set foot.”
“……”
In the strange silence, Kim Byeongjun thought that Hyeonu was a truly meticulous and frightening guy.
The same thought vaguely crossed Yang Gyeonghun’s and Song Gaeun’s minds as well.
* * *
As they listened to Hyeonu’s project, it had somehow become time to leave work.
“All right, let’s call it a day. Good work, everyone.”
“Good work today, Team Leader.”
“Good work.”
“Good work today.”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
After receiving his subordinates’ farewells, Yang Gyeonghun sent a message.
- Where should we meet at twelve?
A reply came immediately from Kang Jihyeok.
- You mean for a drink?
- Yeah.
- Tudari.
- ㅇㅇ
* * *
Khh…
He let a mouthful of soju flow into his mouth, then picked up and ate one of the beondegi that had come out as the basic side dish.
Yang Gyeonghun wondered how surprised Kang Jihyeok would be when he told him Hyeonu’s idea.
Kang Jihyeok was probably curious too.
After all, he had dealt with that raccoon-like department head at Mancheon Apparel together with Hyeonu.
After picking up and eating another beondegi, Kang Jihyeok was, as expected, the first to speak.
“Senior Staff Song is doing well, right?”
This guy always started by killing the mood with nonsense like this.
He was his closest friend, but he was a bit of an oddball.
“Forget Senior Staff Song…”
As he was speaking, the assorted skewers they had ordered came out.
After immediately emptying his soju glass, he put a piece of heart skewer into his mouth, chewed it thoroughly, and opened his mouth.
“Aren’t you curious about Hyeonu’s brand launch?”
“I told you during the day, didn’t I? That guy was thinking of launching one.”
Seeing Yang Gyeonghun smirk, Kang Jihyeok asked with an indifferent expression.
“Why?”
Just as he was about to put a gingko skewer into his mouth, he flinched.
“What, did something already come out?”
In the rapidly growing outdoor market, Hyeonu had a plan to launch a brand.
That was what he had learned late this afternoon.
He had never imagined that something would already have come out after that.
Well, normally, thinking that way was correct.
Launching a brand was an extremely labor-intensive task that couldn’t be rushed, no matter how much one wanted to rush it.
With a faint laugh, Yang Gyeonghun lifted his soju glass and opened his mouth.
“That guy had already finished the whole concept.”
“What concept? The brand launch?”
“Yeah. From start to finish.”
At the incomprehensible words, Kang Jihyeok frowned and looked at Yang Gyeonghun.
As expected, as if he couldn’t understand, he tilted his head, turned his gaze into the air, and thought again.
‘He finished the whole concept from start to finish? What does that mean? How could a new hire who isn’t even a fashion expert do that… Is he just doing it recklessly? Going with the flow of consciousness without regard for reality? Students or new hires with no real-world experience do that sometimes.’
Whether that was the case or not, he only needed to ask one thing.
“Did he establish the brand identity? That’s something a planning MD has to do by carefully analyzing the market and positioning it in detail.”
Yang Gyeonghun let out another faint laugh.
“He didn’t have any of that.”
Kang Jihyeok also gave a faint laugh.
He had secretly hoped there might be something to it, but he thought Hyeonu still lacked a sense of reality.
Well, it had only been a month since the guy started…’
As he was thinking that, Yang Gyeonghun’s voice continued.
“He ignored the usual brand work of establishing a concept, setting an identity, and positioning it—or should I say he went beyond it? Anyway, instead of creating an outdoor brand through planning, he brought in a real outdoor brand that already existed.”
“What does that mean? A real outdoor brand?”
Yang Gyeonghun took out his phone, opened a photo file, and held it out to Kang Jihyeok.
Watching the bridge of Kang Jihyeok’s nose as he lowered his head and stared at it, Yang Gyeonghun took a sip of soju.
“Discovery? Isn’t this a documentary channel?”
“Swipe to the side.”
Kang Jihyeok flicked his thumb and swiped.
“National Geographic?”
“Swipe one more time.”
“Animal Planet…”
Without saying anything, Kang Jihyeok kept his gaze fixed on the phone, his head still lowered.
Yang Gyeonghun set down his soju glass and put another piece of his favorite part, heart, into his mouth.
Chew, chew…
“That’s an outdoor brand more outdoor than outdoor itself.”
The first “outdoor” he mentioned referred to outdoor brands that had been commercialized.
The second “outdoor” referred to the outdoor market.
The third “outdoor” meant a true outdoor brand that took the image of documentary men who always lived in the wild and turned it directly into an identity.
“At this level, isn’t it okay to ignore the basics of the brand work you mentioned?”
“……”
After staring for a long while longer, Kang Jihyeok finally raised his head.
“This is what he said?”
Yang Gyeonghun nodded, his mouth closed as he chewed the bits of heart in it.
“Haa…… I mean, seriously……”
“Put the label on like that, and hide Mancheon Apparel completely. Make people mistake it for clothes made by that documentary channel. He said we have to make them misunderstand in order to plant a fantasy in them. It has to look like real outdoor gear. Make Starfall and Black Face look fake…… We’re telling them to behold the real thing. It’s all deception, sure……”
“……”
“Well, in the end, what we’re selling is clothes, but people will think they’re wearing the original. Because this is the real original…… He said we have to plant that perception.”
“……”
“What do you think?”
Kang Jihyeok glared as if he were angry, his lips twitching.
“Fuck, what’s there to think?”
He drained his glass in one go and added another word.
“It’s just game over.”
A wry smile spread around Yang Gyeonghun’s eyes.
“Right?”
“Man, I’m speechless…… That bastard really is a genius. You guys were praising him so much I thought you were overdoing it, and it kind of put me off.”
“Overdoing it…… Maybe I am, but is Manager Gu the type to overreact? That guy is the coldest, most level-headed person I’ve ever seen.”
“……”
“There’s something I need you to help with.”
“What is it?”
“Buying trademarks. Our team’s a little short-handed. And the planning team is good at this kind of thing.”
“Trademark contracts?”
“Yeah.”
Kang Jihyeok grinned.
“That is my specialty. For this one, I’ll go myself as a special favor. If someone without much experience does it, they’re bound to get ripped off. It takes ages to get the contracts done too.”
“Yeah. Thanks.”
“What’re you thanking me for? I’m just getting in on it.”
“Hehehe.”
“Hehehehe.”
“It’s fun, right? Makes you want to work, right?”
“Hehehehe.”
The way they met each other’s eyes and snickered hit harder than any spoken answer.
“Come on, let’s have a drink.”
After downing it in one shot, Yang Gyeonghun finished the rest of the heart, and Kang Jihyeok ate the chicken skin coated in spicy seasoning.
What they had just eaten were each of their favorite parts.
The planning team and the sales team.
Since they liked different parts, there was nothing to clash over when they ate together.
As long as there was enough food, that is.
* * *
The office of Sales Team 9 was quiet.
Hyunwoo had gone straight to work at Mancheon Apparel, and Kim Byeongjun had left for outside work as soon as he came in.
At the sound of the phone ringing, Song Gaeun picked it up.
“Yes, this is Sales Team 9.”
Song Gaeun’s eyes flew open.
“Really? (……) You really mean it? (……) Waaah~ Thank you, Manager. (……) I’ll get everything ready and head over right now. (……) Thank you again. Thank you, Manager. (……) Yes.”
After hanging up, Song Gaeun sprang to her feet.
“Team Leader.”
“What is it?”
“They said they’re going to shoot the Mancheon Department Store ad wearing Cartibajac clothes. Only our clothes. They said the response was the best during the test shoot.”
“Really?”
“Yes, Team Leader. I feel like I’m about to cry. What do I do?”
Yang Gyeonghun lifted the corners of his mouth.
“What do you mean, what do you do? Hurry up, get the clothes, and go.”
“Yes. I think I’ll go to the Namyangju logistics center first, pick up the products, and take a call van from there. We sent ten sets over first for the test shoot, but I’m going to gather everything and take it with me.”
“Can you handle it alone?”
“I can call the main branch manager. I think the manager needs to be there to recommend some coordination too.”
“All right. I understand, so hurry and go. You’ll need to rack them, so make sure to bring plenty of hangers.”
“Yes, Team Leader.”
Song Gaeun hurriedly gathered her things, threw on a fake Black Face padded jacket, and ran out of the office.
Watching Song Gaeun with a pleased expression, Yang Gyeonghun picked up an approval folder and stood.
Inside the approval folder was Hyunwoo’s project proposal.
It looked like he had written it while working late yesterday.
The guy was too cute.
When he saw things like this, it seemed as if he wasn’t from the royal family after all.
The way he worked hard whenever there was work to do, regardless of clock-in or clock-out time, just like Kim Byeongjun, was unmistakably that of someone born with a dirt spoon.
After all, a royal family member wouldn’t work this hard.
* * *
Hyunwoo looked up for a moment at the three-dimensional-looking Mancheon Apparel building, then stepped inside.
At last, it was beginning.
When he entered the office, he saw the manager of Production Management Section 1.
In the end, the biggest issue would be product production, so he had to stay on good terms with this man.
He approached him and bowed deeply in greeting.
“Good morning, Manager.”
“Oh! You’re here? You came early today.”
“I thought I’d have to hurry if we’re going to launch the brand on time. Then I’ll go see the division head. Have a good day.”
“Sure.”
After Hyunwoo left, the assistant manager sitting in front of him asked.
“Did that person just say brand launch?”
“Yeah.”
Startled, the assistant manager asked again.
“Is there a plan to launch a new brand?”
“……Looks like it. Inside that guy’s head.”
“What? What does that mean?”
“You don’t need to worry about it. That guy is spreading some strange virus. A weird virus that makes everyone around him go crazy.”
“What?”
“There is such a thing.”
As he said this, the corners of Choi Wonhyo’s mouth, the manager of Production Management Section 1, subtly rose.
He didn’t know why, but it caught his interest, and it was simply amusing.
‘Damn it, have I been infected too?’
In this closed space called Mancheon Apparel, Hyunwoo’s virus was beginning to spread without anyone knowing.
There were already people about to become infected.
As everyone knew, once a virus began to spread, it increased exponentially.